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If you get the Edge Pro Essential Kit, you won't go wrong sticking with the Glass stones in other grits.

Take some time and browse through the Edge Pro category on the forum - there is a ton of great information and instruction just waiting for you.

ISI-Society

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 4:14 pm

Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:57 pmPosts: 97

Thanks again ... will read the linked thread shortly.

Assuming I agree with what I read, I'll probably go with your suggestion of Glass over Pro ... although I'll probably want to go with adding a 320, since I already have a heavy cleaver, and a machete, that I can practice reprofiling on.

I'll definitely add an angle cube and diamond plate too.

Tall Dark and Swarfy

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 7:40 pm

Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:22 amPosts: 1084

Brad,

What you need most are those things which you cannot buy. Time. Patience. A modicum of skill.

Learn the sharpening process, and, indeed, what makes a knife 'sharp'. These forums and others are a wealth of knowledge.

Develop a strategy for each knife that you sharpen. It's not as obvious as just grinding away at a blade. Learn to read the complex geometry of a knife blade and develop a feel for how you want to attack it. How do you maintain a constant angle from a fixed pivot given a parabolic edge and diminishing axis of the spine? I have found that some larger German knives are best done in discrete sections with a different EP setup for each section. For something like a Santuku I lay a straightedge along the spine to provide a constant reference axis, taking the drop point out of the equation.

Practice your technique. Gently at first, since being aggressive will ruin your original stones that much quicker. The first time you feel the stones start to 'talk' to you will be the first of many 'a-ha' moments.

The stock EP stones are more than adequate for a beginner and more than adequate for European steels. As your understanding of the sharpening process increases along with your skills you can treat yourself to a new Shapton here and there, either to widen your range of grits or to replace the original EP stones that you may have prematurely worn due to bad technique. And when you do move to the Shapton you get to enjoy another 'a-ha' moment.

The stop collar is a great idea, but I don't feel I use it that much anymore, relying instead on taking the time to use the angle cube between stones. Also, I have used the EP tapes, but didn't find them of much value versus the stones.

Good luck, relax, and have fun. Even an edge that wouldn't pass muster by some of the forum dwellers will still be the sharpest edge you have ever experienced.

Don't cut yourself. (You're going to cut yourself.)

Rick

ISI-Society

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 11:28 pm

Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:57 pmPosts: 97

Thanks Rick. Sagely advice, regardless of any one arena in life.

As a devout autodidact, I've always been one to dive headlong into the deepest end of the pool first. Half measures, training wheels, and kiddie pools are the tools of timidity and mediocrity, IMNSHO. We learn by doing, and it's almost always best to learn to do it right from the git go. Fewer bad habits to unlearn that way.

Melampus

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 12:18 am

Forum Moderator

Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 4:42 pmPosts: 3943Location: USA... mostly.

ISI-Society wrote: "Since we users appear to lack self-edit privs..."

If you go to USER CP, then BOARD PREFERENCES, then choose BRITISH ENGLISH... your edit button will appear on the top right of your posts. Furthermore, there is a cutoff whereas after an hour or two, no edits are allowed...

_________________Embracing the silence amid a life and land full of static...

ISI-Society

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 1:25 am

Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 10:57 pmPosts: 97

Holy unintuitive settings, Batman. I've admined several largish phpBB fora a few years back (I'm a little rusty now), and I never saw that one before. Thirty lashes for myself with a wet noodle for selecting American Engrish.

Thanks for the tip.

Melampus

Post subject: Re: Edge Pro questions

Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 1:27 am

Forum Moderator

Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 4:42 pmPosts: 3943Location: USA... mostly.

Yessur...

_________________Embracing the silence amid a life and land full of static...

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